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Posted on Mon, Nov 26, 2012 : 5:44 p.m.

Haisley Elementary student taken to hospital, in stable condition after medical emergency

By Danielle Arndt

A special education student at Haisley Elementary School in Ann Arbor was transported to the emergency room at Mott Children’s Hospital Monday afternoon after suffering a medical emergency in class.

A sign outside Haisley Elementary School, where an ambulance responded to a medical emergency Monday afternoon.

From AAPS

Huron Valley Ambulance spokeswoman Joyce Williams said the girl was transported at 3:40 p.m. and was in stable condition late Monday afternoon.

Ann Arbor Public Schools spokeswoman Liz Margolis said she does not know the details of exactly what happened in this student’s case, and the district cannot legally release information pertaining to children’s medical conditions.

Margolis said protocols are in place to help teachers know how to handle medical emergencies and to help them calm any children who might be upset or scared after witnessing an emergency.

“The health of the (injured or ill) student is the No. 1 concern,” she said. “But beyond that, the teachers are there to reassure the kids in the room and to let them know they are safe.

“We have crisis plans in place and, in a district our size, unfortunately this probably happens more frequently than most people know,” Margolis said, in reference to having ambulances called to a school. “Teachers know their students best. If one student is having a really difficult time (after seeing their classmate transported by ambulance), the teacher will of course give them individual attention and take them down to the office and call the family.”

If a child is exhibiting signs of being especially affected, the district has school social workers, psychologists and nurses that the child's family can consult, Margolis said. The district also has information on hand that it can distribute to families about clues to look for in a child’s behavior after the child has witnessed something traumatic, she added.

“We have protocols in place for addressing seizures. In general, if a (seizing) child can be moved to someplace more private, they are,” Margolis said.

Haisley Elementary in particular has a large population of special education students, Margolis said, explaining families from across the district send their special needs students to this elementary school.

“Often these are not students that could have been in an inclusion program because of their type of disability,” she said.

Whenever an ambulance is called to a school, the district communicates what happened and why the ambulance was called to families affected.

The district decides on a case-by-case basis whether to inform the entire student body, just the classroom or some other combination of families about the ambulance being called.

“It just depends on what happened, when it happened,” Margolis said. “If kids were out to recess and a lot of people saw the ambulance pull up or if it had its sirens on and everyone heard it, then we might send something out to the entire school through our school messenger system.”

Comments

Danielle Arndt

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 5:45 p.m.

I just wanted to jump in here and address the questions about why we chose to report this emergency. We first learned of the ambulance being called to Haisley via the police scanner. Police indicated the child was unresponsive, so we felt the need to contact the district and medical professionals to find out what happened and the condition of the child. When we learned the child was in stable condition, we actually had a lengthy discussion about whether or not to report the call. We decided to in the end because we thought it would be a chance to share with the community a little about how the district handles a medical emergency that requires an ambulance to transport a young child from a school. I hope this provides some insight into how we came to our decision. Also, both the district and HVA cited HIPAA laws as why they could not provide more details about what happened in the classroom and the child's medical condition. Thanks again for reading! We were certainly glad the child was OK and the situation was not as serious as initially expected!

jns131

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 2:53 p.m.

Usually cases like this are from some type of allergy, reaction to something or meds not taken.
Anyone heard about the girl who was hit? Wondering if anyone has heard anything.

Liz

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 2:30 p.m.

Haisley has the most wonderful caregivers for all the kids with medical needs. The criticism of moving a seizing child is unfounded, as the writer does not know the cause of the problem, the details of the childs care plan, or the potential need for support equipment. Parents in the Ann Arbor school district are blessed to have the option of the staff at Haisley to give every child the best educational opportunity. Thanks you to all the medical support team at Haisley.

clara

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 3:53 a.m.

&quot;We have protocols in place for addressing seizures. In general, if a (seizing) child can be moved to someplace more private, they are,&quot; Margolis said. um I do not think there is any medical standard to move a seizing victim. Move objects away, put small pillow/towel under head, monitor for need for CPR. Document start and stop of seizure. Allow to rest after seizure but never attempt to move a person having a seizure. I think she needs to take a First Aid class.

CLX

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 12:19 a.m.

Hope the child is ok, but it's a bit odd to report something like this given that absolutely no details can be provided. This seems more like a policy statement for the school.

Susie Q

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 12:20 p.m.

I suspect it would not have been reported in A2.com......unless perhaps nearby residents called the newspaper to find out what happened and A2.com decided to call the schools and follow-up.
Ambulances come to the school buildings at least every few weeks to transport a staff member or student to the hospital and it usually NOT reported here.

justcurious

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 : 2:26 a.m.

Exactly. Hard to imagine that this is a rare occurrence also. No details don't help.